UKC

Group of four looking at staying here for a week (using it as a climbing/mountain walking base) starting this coming Sunday, have read that its quite a windy site.. Has anyone stayed there recently, care to share any opinions on the site or any reccomendations for a better site?

Cheers. Pete.

In reply to Petarghh:

Can get windy for sure. Seen quite a few tents trashed there.
Facilities are basic (or were when we were there a couple of years back) - showers pretty poor and only one hot tap for the entire site.

Stayed in the "bunkhouse" there once, and althought the owners were very helpful and friendly, I've never gone back.

Gwern Gof Uchaf down the road is just as windy, but the facilities are a lot better.

Si

This has thrown me into a quandary about whether there should be a circumflex ("tô bach") over the 'o' in 'Gof'. My instinct is to say no.

In reply to Petarghh:
Pretty windy and the water quality is a bit suspect at times. Other than that pretty good.

In reply to SCC:
Stayed in the Bunkhouse there a few years ago and couldn't sit out at night because of the Midges

In reply to Petarghh: definitly gets windy...windy enough to destroy my VE25

In reply to Petarghh: Stayed at Gwern Gof Uchaf (the one further up the road from Capel Curig, so nearer Tryfan than Isaf) many times. Can be windy - broke one of my tent poles (but they were dodgy poles). Showers were nice I thought (at Uchaf). This was a couple of years ago, but you didn't have to pay for them either (i.e. no meter). Friendly owners and obvious attraction of being right at the foot of Tryfan. No pub within (reasonable!) walking distance but short drive away.

Having complained about the wind, I'd like to point out that I was there once in summer when it wasn't windy and was plagued by midges. Wind can be your friend up to a point!

In reply to NickD:
I'm pretty sure your instincts are wrong, although it's been a long time since i've spoken/written welsh regularly.

In reply to mountainbagger: I have stayed at Uchaf... my only memory is waking up in the middle of a small lake. So have been put off slightly ! I think we'll go check out the Isaf site, we have Terra nova and Vango tents so the wind isnt so much of an issue. Do the sites get very busy with D of E groups etc (I guess its un-avoidable) ?

In reply to Petarghh: Yes, it can get a bit squelchy underfoot!

To answer your question about D of E etc., yes I have often seen groups staying there, but not an overwhelming number - there was plenty of room to pitch a reasonable distance away. One week in August we had a group stay most of the week (they didn't bother us at all), but the site was generally much quieter on the weekdays, despite it being the middle of summer (although the weather was more like November!).

In reply to Petarghh:


Well, it is in the mountains!

In reply to mountainbagger: In reply to Petarghh: Yes, it can get a bit squelchy underfoot!

Understatement !

I'm hoping it wont be too busy.. Thanks for the info, just hope the weather is alright !

In reply to Petarghh: Hope you have a good time. I'm jealous - I can't go climbing because of this: http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=357242&v=1

Going to the Peak District this weekend though for some walking

In reply to gethin_allen: Well "gof" either means "(black)smith" or "remembrance", but I don't think either of those has a to bach. I need a dictionary.

In reply to mountainbagger: Sounds good, Was in the peaks a couple of weeks ago staying just outside Hathersage.

Hope the fingers get sorted!

and I lifted the "Gwern Gôf Isaf Farm" name directly from their website, so I would guess it is correct ?

In reply to Petarghh:

Possibly. I guess the problem is that the 'o' doesn't need a circumflex to make the sound that you hear. So someone around here is being an idiot and I'm easily arrogant enough to assume it's everyone else.

In reply to NickD:

"gof" for blacksmith doesn't have a to bach in Y Geiriadur Mawr. For some reason I've always assumed (but thinking about it I could be completely wrong!) that the Gof in Gwern Gof Isaf refers to the Ogof in Gallt yr Ogof - a shorter version of the more usual word. It seems like an odd location for a blacksmith to have set up a smithy. My OS map prints GG Isaf with one but GG Uchaf without! I think we would need a local Welsh speaker to clear this up.

In reply to Petarghh:

was there last weekend. Was windy indeed, and not as many places to get some shelter as I expected to find. Facilities reasonable (only being two nights and not very warm I didn't use the hot water or showers!).

There were DofE groups there, but not millions. Was busy with a range of people from families to climbers to afor mentioned DofEers so wasn't particularly quiet.

on walking up the road I did notice some campers at Uchaf had snuck down in lee of the rocks to the far east of the site, which seemed like a very good move given the conditions.

In reply to Rob Davies: I think the use of 'gof' refers more to ownership of the 'gwern' part, i.e. the smith's upper and lower damp meadow or alder-grove. It's certainly soggy enough to be either. PS I'm a Bethesda-ite

In reply to Rob Davies:
As I said it's been a long time since i spoke welsh on an everyday basis and even then i don't speak gog. I sometimes think it's a bit of a shame to have lost most of a language that I spoke for over 18 years, but, where in sheffield are you going to need to speak welsh.
Even when I was in school i found it difficult to understand the gogs.

In reply to Petarghh:

It's as great old campsite from what I remember from staying there for a fortnight in August 1968. The fact that it's windy is a blessing because it's also very midgy.

In reply to Mabymynydd: Diolch

In reply to gethin_allen: My mother was a Welsh-speaker from that part of the world (Gwynedd). She found it easier to switch to English in talking to Welsh-speakers from South Wales!

In reply to Petarghh: Used to be a good, well-situated, if basic campsite. I always found this kind of site much pleasanter than the rather regimented campsites you get in popular spots like Langdale. Gwern Gof Isaf could be occasionally a bit noisy in the early hours of the morning when lorries from the Holyhead ferry would come past in convoy, but I guess these days they would use the (much-improved) A55 rather than the A5.